Device for fastening ornamentation to flexible material

ABSTRACT

A device for fastening ornamentation to flexible material such as fabric, plastic or leather in which an elongated handle has a removable cap on one end and a setting head at the other end to be pressed downwardly to bend in the prongs of a metal ornament that has been pushed upwardly through the material. The ornamentation may include a rhinestone or similar element or it may be a nailhead or stud having a solid metal surface. The method involves pushing the prongs through the material from the underside and then pressing the device down to bend the prongs from the top side.

United States Patent 1191 Levine et al.

14 1 Oct. 14, 1975 [22] Filed: July 1, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 484,693

[52] US. Cl. 72/479; 29/10; 29/160.6;

29/200 H; 29/243.5; 29/283; 29/432.l; 29/513 [51] Int. Cl. B21J 13/02; B21J 13/03 [58] Field of Search. 29/509, 160.6, 243.53,

29/243.54, 243.5, 10, 432.1, 513, 200 B, 200 1-1, 283, 270; 113/32 BP; 72/477, 479;

1,497,339 6/1924 McCann 29/513 2,518,139 8/1950 Hallowell et al..... 279/75 2,533,870 12/1950 Bayer 29/513 2,635,661 4/1953 Egan 7/15 X 2,833,548 5/1958 Clark 145/50 R X 2,997,716 8/1961 Huelster et al. 29/509 Primary ExarhinerVictor A. DiPalmo Attorney, Agent, or FirmAmster & Rothstein [57] ABSTRACT I A device for fastening ornamentation to flexible material such as fabric, plastic or leather in which an elongated handle has a removable cap on one end and a setting head at the other end to be pressed downwardly to bend in the prongs of a metal ornament that has been pushed upwardly through the material. The ornamentation may include a rhinestone or similar element or it may be a nailhead or stud having a solid metal surface. The method involves pushing the prongs through the material from the underside and then pressing the device down to bend the prongs from the top side.

2 Claims, 15 Drawing Figures US. Patent Oct. 14, 1975 Sheet 1 of 2 3,911,722

.A mm llnnu F73 FIG. 34b 34c m5: F7616 US. Patent Oct. 14, 1975 Sheet 2 of 2 3,911,722

DEVICE FOR FASTENING ORNAMENTATION TO FLEXIBLE MATERIAL The present invention relates to a device for fastening pronged ornamentation to flexible material and is particularly concerned with bending the prongs after they have been pushed through the material.

It is known in the prior art to apply ornamentation to flexible material such as fabric, plastic or leather. Such ornamentation is generally formed of metal having bendable prongs, and the metal may be of the nailhead or stud type having prongs that pass through the material and are bent inwardly for fastening. Another type of ornamentation includes a rhinestone, inexpensive jewel or bead that is held by the bent prongs after being passed through the material. In order to fasten the ornamentation in place, a central opening was formed in the metal ornamentation so that it could be placed on a tapered pin with the prongs pointing downwardly. Then the rhinestone or similar element would be placed in a separate lower die and the pin lowered so that the prongs would be closed around the element. In the-case of a stud the ornamentation would again be placed on a lower die in order to have the prongs bent inwardly. It is seen that with the prior art devices it was necessary to have a separate lower die cooperating with an upper movable portion in order to bend the prongs and complete the fastening. This involves a complicated and expensive device, and it was also difficult to align rows of ornamentation as well as there being difficulty in handling the fabric that was acted upon by the complicated device.

The present invention provides an improved device for fastening ornamentation by means of prongs to flexible material without the need of a lower die.

In the present invention, the device includes a handle portion provided with an upper end being substantially flat and the other end adapted to receive a novel setting head that can bend inwardly the prongs of the ornamentation without the need of a lower die.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a hand-operated device which can be utilized with a selected setting head to attach various sizes and types of ornamentation to flexible material without the need for a lower die.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a hand-operated device which is simple to operate and inexpensive in cost.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a hand-operated device which is free of reinforcing structure so that the fabric being operated on can be easily positioned for the fastening, and accurate alignment of a plurality of ornamental items is possible.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a method of fastening ornamentation to flexible material by pushing the ornamentation through the underside of the fabric and bending the prongs of the ornamentation inwardly without the need of a lower die.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the elongated device with its cap shown in detached position;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view partly in section of one embodiment of a setting head of the device;

FIG. 4 is a view partly in section of another embodiment of a setting head of the device;

FIG. 5 is a view partly in section of a further embodiment of a setting head of the device;

FIG. 6 is a view partly in section of a still further embodiment of a sectional head of the device;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of the operating end of the device showing an ornament with a pearl in place just prior to the application of the prong bending pressure;

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 7 showing the downward movement of the handle portion to start the bending of the prongs;

FIG. 9 is a view of the top side of the fabric showing the prongs bent over into fastening position;

FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIGS. 7 and 8 showing the completion of the downward movement where the prongs have been bent into the fastening position around an ornament having a rhinestone therein;

FIG. 1 l is a top view of the fastened ornament shown in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a'view similar to FIG. 10 showing the fastening of a stud element on fabric by the use of a setting head as shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 13 is a view of the top side of the fabric shown in FIG. 12 showing the prongs of the stud element bent into holding position;

FIG. 14 is a view from the other side of the fabric shown in FIG. 12';

FIG. 15 shows a view of fabric providing for the alignment of different types of ornamentation.

It will be understood that the accompanying drawings are diagramatic inpart, and reference should be made to the following description for a more detailed explanation of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, the hand-operated device includes an elongated handle portion 10 formed as a circular wall 11 located around a central bore 12 and having an outer surface 14. It is an important feature of the invention that central bore '12 is free of any attached element or other integral part of the device, so that it is possible to store within bore 12 additional setting heads l6, l8 and 20 as illustrated.

The device is intended to be operated with a generally downward stroke to bend the prongs of the ornamentation involved, and the upper end of the device includes a cap. 22 having a slightly curved but substantially flat upper surface 23 and a lower internal integral plug member 24 extending from the other side and being of the size to fit tightly within bore 12.

At the other end of handle portion 10 wall 1 1 extends to form wall portion 25 which is thicker than wall 11 so that a bore 26 formed therein as an extension of bore 12 is considerably'smaller than bore 12 and provides a communication of bore 12 to the lower end of handle portion 10.

Bore 26 is of a size to snugly receive a shank portion 28 of a setting head 30. As clearly shown in the drawings, setting head 30 includes an end section 32 of generally circular form having depression means 34 formed within its outer end. Shank portion 28 is of smaller size than end section 32 so that a shoulder 36 is formed in setting head 30, and when setting head 30 is fully placed in its operating position, shoulder 36 will abut the end of thicker wall portion 25 of handle portion 10.

The tight insertion of setting head 30 into bore 26 is made possible by the formation of a slot 38 in thicker wall portion 25, such slot 38 being shown most clearly in FIG. 2. In this connection, it is preferable that handle portion 10 be formed'of a thermoplastic material having'a memory with bore 26 being slightly smaller than the conforming size of shank 28. In order to mount setting head 30, shank 28 is forced into bore 26 by the spreading of slot 38, and this spreading of the thermoplastic material allows wall 25 to maintain a tight grip on shank 28during operation.

In FIG. 1 the flexible material is shown as a fabric 40, and a specific ornamental element 42 is shown positioned beneath fabric 40 prior to being pushed through the fabric to receive an ornamental pearl-like stone 44 therein for fastening as will be explained hereinafter.

FIGS. 3-6 illustrate setting heads having different depression means. This is required for bending the prongs of ornaments of various sizes and types. For example, setting head 30 shown in FIG. 3 has conically shaped depression means 34, the sides of which at the apex form an angle of 90. In a preferred embodiment, the setting means 30 both as to its end section 32 and its shank portion 28 are circular in shape with the diameter of the circular depression means 34 measuring inch. The outside diameter of end section 32 measures 7/16 inch and the diameter of shank 28 measures 541 inch. The total length of setting head 30 is 25/32 inch, and the length of shank 28 is /2 inch. A groove 46 illustrated in shank 28 is merely for ornamental display and is not a necessary feature of the setting head. However, it is possible to use groove 46 to hold a spring mounted ball detent to engage the setting head. A further means of mounting the setting head in handle 10 is by screw threads.

FIG. 4 represents a modification of the setting head where depression means 34a has a smaller diameter on the order of 0.29 inch in a preferred embodiment to handle smaller ornaments with the outer diameter of end section 32a measuring inch. The other measurements of the setting head 30a shown in FIG. 4 are substantially the same as setting head 30 in FIG. 3. It is also possible to design the surface depression means to handle various size ornaments so that only a single setting head is required instead of the two embodiments of FIGS. 3 and 4.

The embodiment of the setting head shown in FIG. is utilized in bending the prongs of a stud type ornament as will be explained hereinafter. In FIG. 5, the setting head 30b has a preferred embodiment wherein depression means 34b includes a central raised conical area 35b formed with a rounded open surface having a radius of 0.084 inch surrounded by an annular depression 37b formed as a rounded surface having a radius of 0.07 inch and having a depth of approximately 0.12 inch. The other dimensions of the FIG. 5 embodiment are similar to the dimensions of the FIG. 3 embodiment.

FIG. 6 represents an embodiment of the setting head similar to FIG. 5 except that it has'smaller dimensions to be used with a smaller stud. In this respect, setting head 300 of FIG. 6 has an end portion 32c that is smaller in diameter than the end portion 32b of FIG. 5. Similarly, the depression means 34c has correspondingly smaller dimensions than the depression means 34b of FIG. 5.

As to the elongated handle portion of the device in a preferred embodiment, handle portion has a length of 3 /2 inches and a diameter of approximately $41 inch that tapers slightly toward the operating end. The outer diameter of cap 22 measures 1% inches with the length of plug 24 being inch. Wall 25 has a length of inch.

FIGS. 7 and 8 represent steps in the operation of fastening the ornament to the flexible material shown as fabric 40. In the operation of the device, ornament 42 shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 is of the type that includes an inexpensive jewel wherein the prongs grasp the jewel shown as pearl 44. In the first step, the prongs 50 ofornament 42 are pushed through the underside of fabric 40 so that each of prongs 50 projects through on the other side as shown in FIG. 7. In the particular ornament shown, a central opening 52 appears, as such opening generally is formed in the commercial ornaments available. This is because the prior art requires the mounting of such ornaments on a pin that projects through opening 52. However, one ofthe advantages of the present invention is that opening 52 is not necessary, and ornaments that grasp a rhinestone or jewel can be utilized in the present invention without such central opening 52.

The fabric 40 with prongs 50 of ornament 42 projecting therethrough is then placed on any flat surface, such as a tabletop 54. Another primary advantage of the present invention is that any generally flat surface can be used at this step of the operation to anchor the ornament, and it is not necessary to have a special matched lower die. The next step is to place the inexpensive jewel or rhinestone on the fabric within surrounding projecting prongs 50 as shown in FIG. 7, and the hand-operated device is then vertically positioned over the ornament so that pearl 44 and prongs 50 are within the confines of depression means 34. Handle portion 10 of the device is then provided with downward movement by hand pressure on cap surface 23 so that the prongs 52 begin to bend around pearl 44 as shown in FIG. 8 where setting head 30 has moved closer to fabric 40. The final position of bent prongs 50 is shown in FIG. 9 where they have been completely bent over pearl 44 by the complete downward movement of handle portion 10.

A different type of ornament is shown in FIG. 10, although it is understood to be substantially the same type as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. However, whereas in FIGS. 7 and 8 pear] 44 was utilized for the ornamentation, in FIG. 10 a rhinestone 56 is used for the ornamentation to be fastened by means of prongs 50a as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11. Otherwise, the fabric 40 shown in FIG. 10 has the ornamentation fastened thereon by the same method as previously described utilizing the flat surface 54 to provide the anchor, and the setting head 30 can be of the same type shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 4. In FIG. 10 the complete downward movement of setting head 30 is shown.

FIG. 12 illustrates theuse of the hand-operated device for a nailhead or stud type of ornamentation. In the stud type, there is no stone or jewel used, and the main surface of the stud from which the prongs extend is an ornamental surface that is exposed with either a geometrical configuration, such as circular, or more complex configuration, such as in the shape of a star. Accordingly, it will be understood that the stud type ornamentation is mounted with the prongs reversed from the embodiment described in FIGS. lll. That is, the

- stud type ornament is pushed through from the top or exposed side of the material, and the prongs are bent over by the hand-operated device into the underside of the material. In FIG. 12 stud ornament 60 has been pushed through material 62 so that its prongs 63 extending on the underside have been contacted by the surfaces of depression means 64 to be bent over as most clearly shown in FIG. 13. The setting head 66 shown in FIG. 12 is of the type previously illustrated in FIG. 5 or FIG. 6, and in operation, the bending over is provided by downward pressure of the handle portion pressing stud ornament 60 against anchor surface 68. Prongs 63 are bent over by following the curvature of the surfaces 64, and the tips of the prongs actually are forced back down into material 62, so that mounted ornament 60 provides the appearance shown in FIGS. 13 and 14.

Again it is emphasized that in the embodiment shown in FIGS. l2l4 there is no need for a lower die. Any flat surface can be utilized for anchoring the ornamentation, and only the single hand-held device is needed to complete the fastening operation with the novel method disclosed.

FIG. 15 illustrates one of the primary advantages of the novel device in that the ornamentation can be mounted in precise alignment as shown by jeweled ornament 70 and star ornament 72 being in exact alignment with round stud 74 and star stud 76 fastened into fabric 78. In the present invention, each individual ornament is manually located by the operator at the exact point where the mounting is desired, and such point is in full view. This mounting in precise alignment is guaranteed since the operator pushes the prongs through the material around the point desired. In the prior art it was necessary to place the individual ornamentation on a lower die member and then place the fabric thereover. In such prior art method and device the ornamentation was covered by the fabric, and there would be some transverse relative movement in the operation so that precise alignment could not be attained as in the invention disclosed.

Another advantage of the invention provided by the absence of the lower die is that there are no structural members or supports that make it difficult to place the fabric in position for the fastening operation. In some of the prior art devices it was necessary to open a seam at times in order to place the material over the lower die.

Still another advantage of the present invention is that inner bore 12 has no integral element or other operation attachment of the device therein so that the extra setting heads can ,be stored therein as shown in FlG. 1. It is generally desired to have a plurality of different setting heads for the different ornaments that may be mounted, and having the elongated receptacle 12 available for storage results in the advantage of being able to market the hand-operated device as a small simple unit with all the various setting heads stored in the handle portion.

From the above description, a novel device and a novel method has been clearly illustrated and described. lt will be understood, however, that other changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art in the particular features of the embodiments which have been described above for illustrative purposes without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.

We claim:

1. A device for fastening ornamentation having attaching prongs to flexible materialcomprising:

an elongated handle portion;

one end of said handle portion being formed to have a substantially flat surface so that pressure applied thereto effects longitudinal downward movement of said device;

a setting head;

the other end of said handle portion including means to receive said setting head in mounted engagement therein; said handle portion having an inner bore and an outer surface, said inner bore being free of any attached element to thereby form an elongated receptacle extending from said substantially flat end surface to said other end, and said outer surface extending freely from said substantially flat end surface to said other end without being in contact with any other element of said device; said setting head having depression means formed therein conforming in shape to said ornamentation and adapted upon the application of said pressure to bend the prongs of said ornamentation to fasten said ornamentation to said flexible material; and

said handle portion being formed of thermoplastic material, said engaging means being formed as a longitudinal slot opening into said other end and spreadable so that said thermoplastic material can tightly grip said setting head.

2. A device according to claim 1 wherein said setting head includes a shank portion having a diameter less than the diameter of said depression means, said shank being formed of a size to tightly fit into said bore and spread said slot for said tight engagement. 

1. A device for fastening ornamentation having attaching prongs to flexible material comprising: an elongated handle portion; one end of said handle portion being formed to have a substantially flat surface so that pressure applied thereto effects longitudinal downward movement of said device; a setting head; the other end of said handle portion including means to receive said setting head in mounted engagement therein; said handle portion having an inner bore and an outer surface, said inner bore being free of any attached element to thereby form an elongated receptacle extending from said substantially flat end surface to said other end, and said outer surface extending freely from said substantially flat end surface to said other end without being in contact with any other element of said device; said setting head having depression means formed therein conforming in shape to said ornamentation and adapted upon the application of said pressure to bend the prongs of said ornamentation to fasten said ornamentation to said flexible material; and said handle portion being formed of thermoplastic material, said engaging means being formed as a longitudinal slot opening into said other end and spreadable so that said thermoplastic material can tightly grip said setting head.
 2. A device according to claim 1 wherein said setting head includes a shank portion having a diameter less than the diameter of said dePression means, said shank being formed of a size to tightly fit into said bore and spread said slot for said tight engagement. 